LA mom faces charges in overseas custody dispute

Thursday, April 10, 2014

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A woman who was arrested in France on charges of breaking child custody laws has been returned to Los Angeles to face prosecution.

The FBI says agents escorted 32-year-old Maria Pfeifer on a flight to Los Angeles International Airport Wednesday, where she was turned over to LAPD detectives.

Authorities allege she took her sons in 2012 to the Czech Republic and her native Slovakia as part of a court-approved trip but did not return. Pfeifer at the time shared custody of the boys who have different fathers.

The FBI said a tip received on a website operated by one of the fathers led investigators a French town near Lake Geneva, where Pfeifer and the children were residing. She was arrested in December and the boys were returned to their fathers.